‘Gau kathas’ a regular event

Gau katha, or discussion on the religious significance of cows, has been an annual event in Latehar‘s Balumath for the past one decade and Muslim villagers dealing in cattle are often persuaded by vigilante groups to give up the trade, bereaved family members of the two deceased men told

TNN | Updated: Mar 21, 2016, 09:55 IST

Ranchi: Gau katha, or discussion on the religious significance of cows, has been an annual event in Latehar‘s Balumath for the past one decade and Muslim villagers dealing in cattle are often persuaded by vigilante groups to give up the trade, bereaved family members of the two deceased men told Congress leaders on Sunday. The Congress delegation led by state chief Sukhdeo Bhagat, who met the families of 35-year-old Muhammad Majloom and 15-year-old Azad Khan Alias Ibrahim on Sunday, feels Friday's brutality stemmed from such events.

"No religion permits murder in the name of protecting cows. The two killed were bread earners for their families. They (the vigilantes) showed little regard for human life... Earlier events (talks on cow protection) indicate that the assailants were moved by the zeal to protect cattle. People of a particular community were targeted for protecting the cows," Bhagat said from Balumath, 100km from here.

The cattle trade by Muslims, who form a significant part of the population in Balumath, is disliked by many who "often suggested to abandon the occupation", one of the victims' relative told the Congress team.

Samsher Alam, who was a part of the Congress delegation that visited Balumath on Sunday, said the lynching was planned and not spontaneous. "Criminals with the purpose to loot cash and cattle will kill somebody, but not thrash and hang him from a tree. The police is covering up the matter," he added.

Former chief minister Babulal Marandi, who was also in Balumath on Sunday, said the cow vigilantes have been very active in the recent past.

"Villagers told me that in the last six months, saffron activists have threatened cattle traders five times and asked them to abandon their trade. The people live in fear," Marandi said.

Five persons, including a member of Latehar's Gau Raksha Samiti, were arrested on Saturday in connection with the twin murders. However, police on Sunday rubbished claims that a group of people instigated by ‘gau kathas' carried out the heinous act. "No complaint against any vigilante group holding ‘gau katha' has been reported to Latehar police recently or in the past," Latehar SP Anoop Birthary said.

Asked whether the ‘gau kathas' created hatred against Muslim cattle traders in the area, Birthary said he would not comment on something that was not related to the case and concluded by saying, "No direct role of any cow protection organization has been found in this case so far."

Both Congress and JVM-P have blamed the police for downplaying the incident.

Rajesh Mahto, a BJP youth-wing leader, who was earlier with the Bajarang Dal, said ‘gau katha' is a part of the cow protection core principles propagated nationally. "Three months ago, Gopal Mani Dasji Maharaj, a cow protection activist, lectured on the matter in Balumath," said Pramod Saraswat, a Ranchi-based Gaushala Samiti member.

Md Zubair, a local Congress leader, feels such programmes spread hatred. "For Muslims, rearing cattle is not a crime," he said.

Absence of complete restriction on slaughter and smuggling of cattle, BJP state vice president Deepak Prakash said, leaves room for public hatred and can lead to disruption in harmony. "The Muslim families are often advised to abandon cattle trade in the victims' village," Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (P) leader Santosh Singh, whose findings matched Bhagat's, said.

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